Arok Becomes AROCK Star: the Rest of the Story!

When I walked into ACKC on Thursday, Stacee, the Children's Pastor, was calling several children up onto the stage.  They ranged in age from 3 to 11 years old.  The reason that she was calling them up was because they were going the extra mile in raising funds for the grinding mill.

Stacee telling the stories of the children who went the extra mile!

One little girl gave her tooth fairy money from the night before.

Another boy gave everything in his life savings:  $150.

Two other children went door to door in their neighborhood, raising another $150.

Another boy gave his entire allowance for 2011.

Several other children made lemonade stands to raise money.

One little girl gave her favorite gold rock!

I almost cried when I heard these stories.  These children weren't dutifully bringing in money because they were asked, nor were they motivated more by winning the prize for their team's highest giving.  They were bringing money that were sacrificial gifts:  their offerings cost them something!  Jesus must have been so pleased, just as he was when the woman gave her only coins in the temple offering.

And, even better, because the children had a chance to get to know Arok and build a relationship with him, their lives will be forever impacted.  They will have the chance to have an ongoing friendship with him as Stacee says that she has many more dreams of ways that the children of Arvada Covenant and Arok can partner together.

Everything the children gave all mattered and it all added up.  After the finale on Friday night, the offering not only met the goal, but surpassed it by almost double!  When God sets out to do something, he does it big!

Arok collecting the offering for the Day!

ACKC raised a whopping $10, 700 for Seeds of Hope!  This is enough to not only buy the grinding mill, but also to purchase mattresses for the children's beds at the compound and to help pay the expenses for caring for the children while they are not in school.

I am so grateful for this breakthrough for Seeds of Hope.  Missio Lux is committed to kingdom partnerships, believing that we can do far more together than we can do apart.  We look forward to a rewarding and fruitful partnership with Arvada Covenant.

Consider donating too:  www.missiolux.org/donate

ACKC responded to the Call by Raising $10,700 for Seeds of Hope!

Arok Becomes A Rock Star!

The first thing that I encountered when I walked into ACKC (Arvada Covenant Kids Camp) was Arok standing by the display of the grinding mill that they hoped to raise money for; and he was signing the shirts of the kids who poured through the door.

It only took a day for the kids to warm up to Arok.  At first, they were a little shy because they had rarely been around someone so tall, so dark and with lines etched in his forehead.  But, once they saw his smile and saw how much he adores children, they swarmed to him like bees to honey!

I wrote earlier how God used an exercise time on a treadmill at the Covenant Midwinter's Pastor Conference for me to renew my friendship with Tom Melander, who is now the Mission's Director at Arvada Covenant.  He and his wife, Margaret, went to Uganda to visit their daughter, Kelsey, so they took an extra trip from Kampala to Nukuru to visit our Seeds of Hope children and see our compound. 

Arok with Margaret and Tom

God knew what he was doing during their visit.  He brought four Lost Boys of Sudan to greet Tom and Margaret and to share dinner together.  Margaret, especially, came away KNOWING that the Lost Boys are the hope of Sudan:  something that Missio Lux has recognized through our partnership with Arok.  I believe that the Lost Boys were saved as a remnant to act to bring hope to their country through the resources of connection, education and finances that some have access to through their life in the USA.

Even independently of their visit, the Children's Pastor, Stacee Eggers, at Arvada Covenant decided to choose Arok's village of Paliau for their missions project:  to raise $6,000 for a grinding mill.  This grinding mill will grind all the grain from the village in 1/100 of the time that it currently takes the women and children to grind the grain between two rocks.

The Grinding Mill Display

The ACKC team thought it was an ambitious goal because they had never raised more than $5,000 before for their missions projects.  But, they went into in faith knowing that God had clearly led them to Arok and his presence with them would help to inspire the children.

Arok demonstrates grinding the corn between two rocks

Arok with Senior Pastor John Martz

Arok on Stage with Children's Pastor Stacee Eggers

Arok did more than inspire the children~he helped them to step into a whole world outside of their familiar suburban world in Arvada, Colorado.  He helped them to understand that a girl doesn't go to school because first of all there are no schools in the Paliau due to the Civil War of 20 years.  The educatioinal system just doesn't exist in Southern Sudan.

But, secondly, even if she had the opportunity, right now her role is to walk 45 minutes to a river to get water for the family and then to help her Mother grind the corn or grain for the daily bread.  It takes hours every day to do this.  The Grinding mill is going to free up their time to spend on more productive and hopefully, life giving, pursuits.

I was present on Thursday when the children came to a station where they actually got to experience grinding the corn the present way that Paliau grinds:  between two rocks.  Then, they got to see a smaller version of a grinding mill take the dried corn and grind it in less than a minute.  When I asked the children if they would rather grind corn or go to school, every one of them said, "Go to School!"

Arok got the nick name "Arok the Rock Star" at ACKC but I've always known that he was a Rock Star.  He is one that made a sacrificial decision to spend his life on behalf of a village that he left when he was 7 years old.  He continues to focus on helping the 35 orphans we have in boarding school in Kenya, and on helping his village become financially prosperous so they can partner in the role of educating the children.

The Grinding Mill is one big step forward for that to happen!

How much did ACKC raise for the mill?  You'll have to wait until tomorrow for that answer!

From Treadmill to Kenya and Back

Last January I went to the exercise room to work out before the Covenant Midwinter Pastor's Conference began. I was surprised to see a very long time friend of mine, Tom Melander, on the treadmill. I took the one next to him, never realizing that it was a definite divine appointment. (It would be great if every exercise session was a divine appointment, wouldn't it?)

Tom is the new Missions Director for Arvada Covenant Church. His daughter Kelsey, one of my daughter's best friends, is also in Uganda doing AIDS research. Tom told me that he and his wife were going to Uganda to visit Kelsey and that he was interested in viewing some projects in Africa while he was over there. So, it was the perfect opportunity for me to tell him all about Seeds of Hope, our missio for educating Sudanese orphans. He seemed interested in pursuing more about it, and we both realized that Nakuru, Keny and Kampala, Uganda were in fairly close proximity.

One thing led to another and Arvada Covenant Church decided to sponsor Seeds of Hope for their Vacation Bible School. They are going to raise money for a grinding mill for the village. This further motivated Tom to pursue going to meet the children and visit our compound, the home base for the children when they are out of school, as well as a place for those who visit from the Sudanese village when they come.

Amazingly, our family came to Denver for a family wedding, and we ended up staying in Tom's home when he was in Uganda. It was perfect because it continually reminded me to pray for what God was doing a full continent away!

God was so present in the visit. Ghak, our wonderful Lost Boy in Kenya, picked Tom and his wife up, and gave them a tour. He took them to meet the children and he showed them the compound. But, even more, 3 other Lost Boys took them to dinner.

Tom and Margaret were privileged to hear the stories of 4 Lost Boys who are now giving their lives to help their villages in Sudan. They were so moved by the stories that they are committing themselves to join them in their work. Margaret actually said, "The Lost Boys are the future of Sudan." I had to agree as I watch how Arok lives sacrifically to help the children of Seeds.

God gave me one last gift in all of this. I ended up staying in Denver an extra day because my Mother was hospitalized. My sister had planned to pick up Tom and Margaret so I went with her, and we were the first people who heard the awe inspiring report of their visit to Uganda and to meet the Seed's children.

This story only serves to remind me that God can take a simple thing like exercising on a treadmill to turn it into a fully blown God story. It's a gift to walk these stories out!